Navez Léon

Léon Navez was a Belgian artist born in Mons in 1900 and died in Auderghem in 1967. He was a painter, watercolourist, draftsman, graphic artist and decorator. He was educated at the Academy in Mons under E. Motte (1913-1916), at the Academy in Brussels under the direction of A. Carte, H. Richir, J. Delville, E. Fabry (1919-1924 and 1927-1928). ). He stayed at Prijs from 1924 to 1926, together with L. Devos. There he designed, among other things, postage stamps and banknotes. He was awarded the Godecharle Prize in 1924 and the Prize of Rome in 1928. He realized landscapes, among other things, but found inspiration mainly in the human figure, women in particular. The drawing was always of prime importance in his oeuvre. Around 1947 he briefly came under the influence of Braque and Lhote and strongly stylized compositions with colorful surfaces were created. His works, however, exhibit decorative qualities above all. Made frescoes for the building of the Commissariat-General at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1935 and for the town hall in Tournai. He was co-founder of the Nervia Group. From 1929 to 1946 he was a teacher at the Academy in Mons, afterwards at La Cambre in Brussels and from 1954 at the Ecole Technique Féminine in Saint-Ghislain. A study trip to the Belgian Congo in 1956 also inspired him to create numerous works in clean lines. His work can be found in the Museums in Mons, Namur, Liège, Verviers, Ghent, Antwerp and La Louvière. He is mentioned in BAS I and Two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. (piron)